No fewer than 1,000 students of Nwafor Orizu college of Education Nsugbe Anambra State, Wednesday, barricaded both lanes of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, crippling ecomomic activities in Awka.
The students were protesting alleged extortion, intimidation and harassment by officials and agents of the state government.
The protesting students under the aegis of Joint Campus Committee (JCC) in Anambra, carried placards with various inscriptions; “voice of student must be heard” “Students say no to intimidation” “Uju Akudo Must Go” “Commissioner for Transport Encouraging Tout”, among others.
The students disrupted vehicular movement and other business for several hours at Aroma junction, insisting that they would only vacate the road if they were addressed by the state governor.
It took a re-enforcement of police team led by Superintendent Willie Odumu from the state police command to disperse the protesters after an unsuccessful attempt by a team led by Anthony Akpeyi, DPO of B-Division.
The police team shot into the air repeatedly to scare the protesting students, while business owners in the area scampered for safety.
Speaking to newsmen, Mr Betty Okoye, Chairman of JCC in Anambra said the students could no longer accept the situation where agents who claimed to be working for government inflicted hardship on students.
Okoye said the alleged agents of government frustrated efforts to make the bus station designated for students’ shuttle park in Onitsha functional.
He said the students used to pay between N50 and N70 in the designated parks but were now being made to pay between N150 and N200 by the agents.
He called on governor Obiano to stop illegal agents from conniving with officials of government to cause hardship for students and give him bad image.
Addressing the protesters, the special adviser to the State governor on political matters, Chinedu Obidigwe, thanked them for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner and assured them that their request will reach the Governor as soon as possible.
“Governor Obiano’s administration you know is an education friendly administration and he respects you a lot.
I assure you that nobody will deprive you of your rights and our government will never condone injustice and evil,” he added
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